Psalm 105-106 – Chapter Study Psalm 105 Like several of the psalms, this one has no inscription so we don’t know who wrote it or what prompted it. What we do know is vs. 1-15 are found in 1 Chr. 16 where David brought the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem & installed it in the new tabernacle he built for it. Most likely Chronicles merely records part of the song David sang that day. Psalm 105 is the whole thing. 1 Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples! The call to give thanks to the Lord is repeated 12 times in Psalms. The psalmist knew the importance of reminding people that God is the source of blessing. Thanksgiving is the follow up & seal of faith. Asking God for blessing is the front side of faith; it’s anticipation of God’s goodness. Giving thanks is the back-side of faith; it’s appreciation of God’s goodness. Thanksgiving is crucial because it propels us into larger faith. Which is why the psalmist next says, “Call upon His name.” When I was growing up, most parents understood the importance of teaching their children to be thankful & to express it. As with so much of parenting today, thankfulness is something that has been neglected. Christian parents need to be diligent to train their children to be thankful and to express it. For what they learn in reference to man they will transfer to God. 2 Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; Talk of all His wondrous works! There are many forms of praise. Singing is one of them. But notice who the singing is TO GOD. Praise is not for our entertainment; it’s for the glory & delight of God. Another form of praise is to talk with others about what God has done. 3 Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord! We see this reference to the NAME of God often in Scripture. It means much more than the label we call Him by. God’s name is more than an ID tag. In the ancient world the name represents the person’s character, not only WHO they are, but WHAT they are. While some people ‘glory’ in things like money, power & fame, believers can glory in all God is. God told the prophet Jeremiah, (9:23–24) ‘Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me, That I am the Lord, exercising loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,’ says the Lord. 4 Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face evermore! This word ‘seek’ means intense concentration. It’s no half-hearted, lukewarm nonchalance about God. It’s Priority One; it’s the One Thing that defines a person’s life. What do you want written on your headstone? If your life could be boiled down to one thing, what would it be? What do others see in you that captures your essence? If they had to summarize your life in a brief sentence, what would they say? The Psalmist says here that a worthy epithet is “He/She sought God.” My aspiration, my life-theme & motto is found in 1 Tim. 1:12 where Paul says, “I know whom I have believed.” 5 Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders, & the judgments of His mouth, Marvelous works are things that cause us to marvel, to wonder, to stand in awe. It seems odd the psalmist would call us to remember them. How can you forget a marvel? The sad thing is, we do forget. They don’t actually leave our memory; it’s just that their power to stir faith diminishes. Think of Israel on the way to Canaan. After the marvels they’d witnessed in the Exodus, when faced with the need for water, they began to whine & complain that God wanted to kill them with thirst. If they had been rehearsing, remembering, the miracles they’d already witnessed, certainly when the need for water arose they would not have complained. Christian, when facing a need, infuse your request to God with a faith bolstered by the remembrance of what He’s already done. Remember the cross – the greatest marvel of all. 6 O seed [descendants] of Abraham His servant, You children of Jacob, His chosen ones! [Israel] 7 He is the Lord our God; His judgments are in all the earth. He is the sovereign, mighty, and majestic God who governs the whole world in wisdom & power. In vs. 8-45, we take a tour of God’s mighty & merciful acts on behalf of His people. 8 He remembers His covenant forever, The word which He commanded, for a thousand generations, 9 The covenant which He made with Abraham, And His oath to Isaac, 10 And confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, To Israel as an everlasting covenant, 11 Saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan As the allotment of your inheritance,” 12 When they were few in number, Indeed very few, and strangers in it. When Jacob’s family went to Egypt they were only 70 in number. 13 When they went from one nation to another, From one kingdom to another people, This looks to the earliest years of Israel’s history under the patriarch Abraham, Isaac & Jacob. We read in Genesis how the rulers of Egypt & Canaan were baffled by the divine protection Abraham & his family enjoyed. 14 He permitted no one to do them wrong; Yes, He rebuked kings for their sakes, 15 Saying, “Do not touch My anointed ones, And do My prophets no harm.” If you remember Abraham’s story, God protected him even when he was being a bit of a lying weasel. Another marvelous evidence of God’s grace. 16 Moreover He called for a famine in the land; He destroyed all the provision of bread. 17 He sent a man before them— Joseph—who was sold as a slave. Now we get a quick recounting of Joseph’s life; revealing the amazing providence of God. 18 They hurt his feet with fetters, He was laid in irons. 19 Until the time that his word came to pass, The word of the Lord tested him. 20 The king [Egyptian Pharaoh] sent and released him, The ruler of the people let him go free. 21 He made him lord of his house, And ruler of all his possessions, 22 To bind his princes at his pleasure, And teach his elders wisdom. As great & wise as Egypt was, Joseph brought them the revelation of the true God. If only they had heeded what he taught, things would not have turned out for them the way they did in the plagues. Because the Egyptians rejectedrejected the knowledge Joseph brought & enslaved the Jews, they were laid low in judgment. 23 Israel also came into Egypt, And Jacob [his family] dwelt in the land of Ham. 24 He increased His people greatly, And made them stronger than their enemies. 25 He turned their heart [the Egyptians] to hate His people, To deal craftily with His servants. Why would God turn the hearts of the Egyptians against His people? This sounds cruel. It’s the opposite – it’s protection. Because of the racism of the Egyptians toward the Hebrews, they were kept isolated as a people. Without this racial hostility, Israel would have been assimilated into the Egyptian system & culture & would have been judged along with the rest of the Egyptians. Sometimes God’s mercy seemsseems severe, harsh, hard. But it’s a mercy which knows the future & only, always applies what’s needed to bring ultimate blessing. 26 He sent Moses His servant, And Aaron whom He had chosen. 27 They performed His signs among them, And wonders in the land of Ham [Egypt]. 28 He sent darkness, and made it dark; And they did not rebel against His word. 29 He turned their waters into blood, And killed their fish. 30 Their land abounded with frogs, Even in the chambers of their kings. 31 He spoke, and there came swarms of flies, And lice in all their territory. 32 He gave them hail for rain, And flaming fire in their land. 33 He struck their vines also, and their fig trees, And splintered the trees of their territory. 34 He spoke, and locusts came, Young locusts without number, 35 And ate up all the vegetation in their land, And devoured the fruit of their ground. 36 He also destroyed all the firstborn in their land, The first of all their strength. 37 He also brought them out with silver and gold, And there was none feeble among His tribes. 38 Egypt was glad when they departed, For the fear of them had fallen upon them. 39 He spread a cloud for a covering, And fire to give light in the night. 40 The people asked, and He brought quail, And satisfied them with the bread of heaven. 41 He opened the rock, and water gushed out; It ran in the dry places like a river. 42 For He remembered His holy promise, And Abraham His servant. 43 He brought out His people with joy, His chosen ones with gladness. 44 He gave them the lands of the Gentiles, And they inherited the labor of the nations, 45 That they might observe His statutes And keep His laws.